Charging What I’m Worth (and some other unapologetic comments on the matter…)

March 7, 2014

I get emails very regularly from people asking for extremely detailed nutrition advice and meal planning, asking for me to write them workouts and some, a combo of the two. I never mind answering a few questions about fitness/nutrition/healthy-living stuff, but what some folks are asking me to do takes a couple of hours (or more) of programming and work on my end. On one hand, it absolutely makes my day when I get these emails. Someone out there trusts my knowledge and my advice enough to ask for it! On the other hand, I keep making the mistake (over and over and over and over again) of not charging for my time. I did not say charging a lot for my time, I said charging… as in at all. As in, I’m basically working for free on a very regular basis.

In another realm of my professional life comes the “let’s-see-how-low-she’ll-go” kind of conversations. I’ve never been told that I cost too much, there’s just always this initial “let me see if I can talk down the price” conversation that many folks jump to immediately upon entering our professional relationship. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good deal just as much as the next person, but as a live-and-learn lesson, I’m learning to hold my ground with this!

Hear me loud and clear: It goes without saying that I love fitness and nutrition and would wholeheartedly do it free of charge if I didn’t have bills to pay and didn’t like to eat grass-fed meat or buy Mark presents. But I do, so I have to make an income.

I wish that someone had told me a long time ago that all this money stuff ultimately comes down to value. What is the value of my (or any other professional’s) skills, expertise, knowledge, and overall quality to the person paying for my goods or services?

In my very short experience, I’ve learned a lot about value:

When people pay for something, they value it! Giving it away for free doesn’t make them feel like they’ve received a product or service of worth; it makes them think it wasn’t worth enough to pay for. When I give my time away for free, I’m reinforcing the concept that my time is worthless.

If someone gets something initially for free (or ultra, super cheap!), they generally assume that that’s the way I work. If I do it once, people will expect me to do it again.

So here’s the deal folks, as much as I would love to always give you free workouts, free meal plans, heavily discounted classes, etc, my worth is greater than that! I worked hard for and earned the education that I received for my training/nutrition jobs. I do many hours ofwork, behind-the-scenes– learning, researching, and continually making sure that I am giving you the best workout that I can as well as making sure that my nutrition knowledge and tools are relevant and up-to-date. I strive to go above and beyond every expectation of every single client– making sure that they feel supported, motivated, challenged, and pushed.

Hear me very loud and very clear (again!): I unapologetically charge what I charge because I know, without a shadow of a doubt, I am worth it.

I also feel that I drop quite a bit of meal-planning, nutrition knowledge, and pre-planned workouts on this blog completely for free! So, for me, this is my little outlet of giving away some of my knowledge and work in a way that feels good and that I enjoy.

On a final note, if you currently train or work with me in any capacity, I can’t tell you enough how grateful I am that I get to work with you. I care so much about my clients, and am the luckiest girl in the world that I get to wake up every morning and do something that I love so much! Thank you for helping me live my dream!

I’m a thirty-something living on the beach in Northeastern Florida with my husband, Mark, and our son, Hudson. I am an American College of Sports Medicine certified personal trainer and my current job as well as my absolute favorite way of getting fit and sweaty is through group circuit training at GO HQ. I am also specialized in nutrition through the Precision Nutrition program.